Rotary radial piston engine



Oct. 10,1961 w. BEAVEN ROTARY RADIAL PISTON ENGINE 4 Sheets$heet 1 FiledMarch 11, 1957 J 2: Ft

\ EEGR 1 INYf/VTOP 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 11, 1957 INYENTOR Oct.10, 1961 L. w. BEAVEN ROTARY RADIAL PISTON ENGINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledMarch 11, 1957 Seen by inspection.

rotor 35 is fixed to the outer end of the valve driver shaft 34preferably by a taper fit and key arrangement, Secured by a cotterpinned 1111f." This obliges the exhaust valve rotor to turn with thevalve driver shaft 34. The bearings 37 hold the inner end of the shaftagainst longitudinal movement by the aforesaid thrust forces. Theexhaust valve rotor, as stated, is iournaled in its stator but itself isin no way restrained against longitudinal movement by anything but thehearings on the inner end of the valve shaft and therefore it may floataxially'in said stator and may adiust itself to the extent of the minutechanges in shaft length. due to temperature chan es. The exterior sideof the rotor is provided with fins 35a, FIG. 4, for stiffening the rotorand for dissipating some of its heat. Theintake valve rotor 39 islocated in the piston and is slidable on the valve driver shaft 34 sothat the piston can reciprocate freely thereon. The valve rotor 39 is,however, connected rotatably as by splines, kevwavs or hexagonal shaftto the valve driver the latter slides on the shaft. The valve rotor 39is iourbaled to the piston 31 on roller bearings 40. the function ofwhich is to take up with low friction losses the tremendous forces ofthe exploding gases and those of centrifugal action. The stator for theintake valve is in this case integral with the piston 31. In FTGS. 2 and8. this valve has its ports 44 open and the exhaust ports in FIGS. '3, 4and 8 are shown closed. The condition is more pre' cisely shown inFIG. 9Where it can be seen that the exhaust is finishing its closure and theintake has well started its opening. This is predicated on a popularvalving cycle wherein intake opens 40 degrees early and exhaust closes26 degrees late. There are nine ports in each valve and all nine ineach, open and close simultaneously. The valves enclose -a firingchamber 19.

For a more detailed description of the valving rotor'and statorarrangements and their operation in a rotary radial or spinner typeinternal combustion engine, reference may be had to my Patent No.2,795,216 issued June 11, 1957,

, shaft, so that the shaft rotates the intake rotor 39 while r andentitled Rotary Valving for Internal Combustion follower gear 41 iscarried about the static worm plate 42 as the cylinder and crankshaftassembly rotates about the fixed crankshaft (see FlGS; 2 and 3). Thefollower gear shows a single row of coplanar teeth. This requiresthatthe worm track on the peripheryof the worm plate have a pitch linethat is spherical because the pitch line of the follower is a circle.The difference from cylindrical is minute unless said plate is madewide, as can be In FIG. 3, it will be observed that the follower gear 41is caused to mesh with the worm .plate 42 on only one side by disposingthe cylinder 30 slightly off center to the other side of the enginecenterline. If centered, the follower would bind as it would engagesimultaneously on both sides. Ofisetting the cylinders eleminates anelement in each of the valve operating mechanisms as will be seen bycomparison with the mechanism illustrated in my earlier Patent2,512,909, and which constitutes a distinct improvement thereover.

It will be apparent that the cylinder could as well have been offsettoeither side of the engine centerline insofar as the valve driveroperation is concerned. The preferred oifsetting, however, results in acombined benefit in. that it assists the reaction function of the engineas will be described in detail below;

An open center reaction hood assembly 45, FIGS. 3 and 4, comprises acap-like body with a fastening flange 46 attached by screws to the endof the cylinder assembly 30, specifically in this instance to theexhause valve stator 36 which, in turn, is held fast inthe end of thecylinder 30. It has inner and outer walls 47 and 48 respectively, bothpreferably circular and concentric, and forming a gas conductingannulus. Both of these walls are cut by the section 3--3 in FIG. 4'and-the inner wall reaches down inside of, and pilots in, an upstandinglip on the exhaust valve rotor to improve the inner sealing of thegases. The said section also cuts the three left and the last rightcurved turningivanes 49 in this instance. The other vanes 49 shown inFIG. 3, in elevation as they project through the inner wall-for support,and may be welded thereto. The center or crown of the cap is open,

to facilitate the escape of heat from the exhaust rotor 35, seen in FIG.4. The vanes 49 need traverse only the annulus as it alone carries theexhaust gases. The cap leaves the gases only one path of escape which isbetween the vanes. The vanes 49 may be thin flat strips, bent on alongitudinal axis to turn the gases at substantially ninety degrees. Theleg first approached in the assembly by the outgoing gases issubstantially radial, and the other one is tangential to the circle ofdischarge and is assembled contra-spinwise. They are mounted in the hoodin a laminated manner with a small clearance between adjacent members,for the gases to flow in. They turn the gases from a radial. to atangential direction, and it is against these vanes that the reactionforces act to increase the torque and the velocity of the engine. Thisarrangement laminates the flow and brings the reaction forces intoparallelism, a great improvement over earlier systems of confusedturbulence, eddies and force losses. Had the cylinder been set on theradial line, as heretofore, there would not be any clearance between thetangential legs of adjacent vanes to permit escape of the gases. Byoffsetting, tiering of the vanes is accomplished. The offsetting of thecylinder tilts the arcuate parameter of the exhaust hood vanes 49,increasing the functional'clearance between them (depending on theextent of the offset), each vane being brought into a position above itsadjacent posterior neighbor, much like tiers of spectators on agrandstand, but preserves at the same time the full uniform radius ofthe moment arms of the reaction forces by preserving a substantiallydegree turn in the vanes from radial to tangential;

'A crest or mound 50 has been provided, downward on the exhaust rotor35, and upward on the headof the intake valve rotor 39 in FIG. 3, todisperse the gases away minimum. This unloads the cylinder in minimumtime.

Therefore, less heat is lost by radiation and conduction.

This conserves the'pressure and more reaction force therefore can beconverted into power by the reaction function. Y

The shroud or cowl 21, which has been provided,'is of cylindrical shape,the axisof which is concentric with that of the engine. It functions asa guard and also to contain the coolant air currents radially for amoderate distance beyond the exhaust orifices. This maintains thecoolant air-flow substantially perpendicular to the exhaust jets inorder to have neither positive nor negative influence on the tangentialvelocity of-theexhaust gases in the prairi at ratifies, as it desired"that the ambient velocity of the gases at release shallhave fallen tozero.

When the engine and vehicle to whichit is mounted is static, coolant airand the gases are moved by "the fan blades 22. These blades areconnected to the crankcase portion 23 and shroud il and are fixed withrespect to the cylinders. As the cylinders rotate about the staticcrankshaft 15, the blades act as scoops directing coolant air past thecylinders.

As the vehicle accelerates, the work performed by the fan blades 22drops off to Zero. The coolaht airis then not moved, it is merely staticand the vehicle and engine m'eve past it. The exhaust gases, if releasedstatic by abortive jetting'that is opposition to spin and atsubstantially the "same velocity the velocity of rotational travel ofthe exhaust 'oiifices,re'main static so far is the forces here underconsideration are 'cohce'r'ned. Thus the gases are neither in the way ofsubsequent jettings, nor do they hinder the reaction function in anyway.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a transverse sectionacross the engine crankpin. The inner ends or feet 51 of the connectingrods 32 are shown together with the manner in which they are mortisedand nested into each other to increase substantially the wrap around thecrankpin. The connecting rod feet are held on to the crankpin againstcentrifugal force by pairs of retainer rings 52 held in assembly bybolts 54 which pass through driving bosses 53 preferably integral withsaid retainer rings for engagement with the rods 32. Only two rods 32have been illustrated to avoid confusion. These are typical of theothers. This view shows the position wherein the minimum angle betweenthe rods 32 occurs (bottom dead center omitting consideration of thecylinder oifset for simplification) and the manner in which the rods 32,at that instant trap and position the assembled retainer rings 52provided with bolted bosses 53, by trapping one of the bosses 53intermediate, in the crotch of the legs of the adjacent rods 32. Thisdrives the retainer ring assembly 52, 53, 54 somewhat as if it were geardriven to maintain orientation wtih and of the rod sets. The bearingsurfaces of the rod feet 51 are equipped for low friction performance,and the internal diameters of the retainer rings 52 are greater than theexternal diameters of the crankshaft fiangm 43 for assembly.

FIG. 7 is a developed view of a circumferential section, taken asindicated in FIG. 6, and shows the nesting of the rod ends, each withits neighbors, when looking radially inward.

Lubrication of the engine is accomplished by force feeding the bearingsurfaces and by spraying so that some of the oil is directed to theinside cylinder walls and even into the firing chamber to lubricate theexhaust valve rotor. A sump 55 has been provided, of a new type, partlyin the intermediate section 23 of the crankcase and partly in the endcover 25, having the transverse form of an annulus. A tapered internaldiameter in the said section, indicated by dotted line 26 in FIG. 2,forms a drainage slope. This slope ends in a maximum diameter, whichbecomes the sump 55 to which the centrifugalized diffusion of the oilfinds its way under the urge of centrifugal force rather than gravity.Here it is picked up by a scoop 56 (see FIG. into which it is thrown bydrag and velocity from the case, supplemented by suction of the pump 57,which is attached to the crankshaft (see FIG. 2), and driven by spurgears or their equivalent. Gritty solids are then scooped up along withoil, and removed from the engine quickly, prevented by centrifugal forcefrom splashing up out of the sump as they do in typical engines whererelatively feeble gravity alone operates to prevent.

The oil is first pumped out of the crankcase to a filter (not shown) viachannels 58 in the shaft and returned in a parallel channel 59, fromwhence it is sprayed or '6 tea to the bearing surfaces under pressure.Foreign that ter such as grit has little chance to 'do damage. Splashlubrication is discouraged as it consumes power and dispenses grit.

The cylinders project inwardly into the crankcase to form an inward cuffwhich acts as a dam andprevents excessive amounts of oil from gettinginto the firing chambers. v

The drawings indicate the presence of a considerable quantity of oil inthe sump. This was done only to indicate where the oil would be if anaccumulation were permitted. However, it is anticipated that the pump 57and the scoop 55 may be so set and regulated that only a very littlefree oil may be permitted to remain in the sump -55, so desired. I Itwill be observed that fuel ahd mixture enters "the hollow end of thecrankshaft 1'5 and enters the via the dotted air intake channel '60,which dbwhwardly as indicated by the crooked dotted arrow 61 in FIG. 2.There it is whirled tornado-like, the various mechanical parts withinthe crankcase serving as impeller blades. It then peels off fromcentrifugal force, taking a radial direction when an intake valve opens,supplying a path therefor, axially through one piston at a time and in apreselected sequence, arriving into the firing chambers (the spacebetween the intake and exhaust valves), where it is compressed by theadvancing piston. It is then ignited by spark, compression or othermeans. The pressure from explosion then drives the piston inward in thework function and as the piston starts outward, the exhaust valve opensand the piston scavenges the cylinder, ready to repeat the cycle. Thatis the four stroke cycle, the preferred one where cost permits. The samemechanism however, can operate the engine by the two cycle method, withdifferent valve timing.

Certain modifications and revisions will suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art, and all such modifications, revisions and changes ascome within the spirit of this invention are intended as being withinits scope, best defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rotary internal combustion engine of the expansion-reaction type,said engine embodying a stationary crankshaft, a crankcase journaled forrotation on said crankshaft, a radially disposed cylinder mounted onsaid crankcase, a firing chamber and a piston in said cylinder, a rotaryexhaust valve in said cylinder, the rotor of said valve being driven bya shaft axial with said cylinder, said rotor being rigidly aihxed tosaid shaft and piloted in the stator of said valve, said stator beingfixed to said cylinder, the inner end of said valve driver shaft beingprovided with roller bearings of the radial-thrust type, said bearingsbeing secured to and within said crankcase and mounted to hold saidshaft on center and to withstand the axial thrust of the explosions andof the centrifugal action, failing upon said exhaust valve rotor.

2. A rotary internal combustion engine of the expansion-reaction type,said engine embodying a stationary crankshaft, a ring of coplanarcylinders radially disposed at uniform arc spacing around saidcrankshaft, a piston in each cylinder, said cylinders being rotatableabout said crankshaft, means to cause relative reciprocatory movementbetween each cylinder and its piston, said means including a stationarycrankpin on said crankshaft, a twolegged connecting rod between eachpiston and said pin, said rods also rotatable about said pin, said rodsbeing alike for dynamic balance, with two way feet on the crankpin endand ankles above said feet, said feet having great toes bi-laterallyextended over nearly two included cylinder arcs, with recesses on thesides of said feet to receive said extended great toes, said crankpinaccommodating all of said rod feet, said feet being assembled with oneanother about said crankpin and retaining rings en- 7 circling saidassembled rod feet, said rings having bosses for engagement in turn withone ankle at a time. 3. A rotaryinternal combustion engine of theexpansion-reaction type, said engine embodying a stationary crankshaft,a radially disposed cylinder rotatable about said crankshaft, a pistonin said cylinder, means responeiverto the rotation of. said cylinder tocause relative reciprocatory movement between said cylinder and piston,a firing chamber in said cylinder, a centrifugalized flow path for thegases of combustion, an exhaust valve in the end of said cylinder, saidvalve embodying a ring of per ipher al exhaust ports to release saidgases, an annular reaction hood to catch said gases, said hood beingsuperiio'sed immediately over said ring of ports, said hood embodying aplurality of tiered turning vanes, said vanes forming laminar slotsbetween them, said slots directed to: contraspinwise release of saidgases,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

